“A statement of principles for Athletics at UNC” was issued Feb. 17 after the NCAA investigated possible rule infractions by the Tar Heel football team during the 2010 season.
The statement, which was endorsed by 112 faculty members, was the result of meetings between an informal group of faculty members at UNC who came together to discuss the future of athletics at UNC, a news release said.
The principles are said to address the challenges associated with “the emphasis on Division I athletics and the scandals that are associated with the athletics enterprise.”
The three principles that the undersigned faculty hopes to see within the athletic department are institutional openness, educational responsibility and mission consistency.
Lewis Margolis, one of four main contacts about the statement and an associate professor of maternal and child health, was one of several faculty member at a Nov. 2, 2011, meeting with faculty and former Athletic Director Dick Baddour to discuss the athletics’ department at UNC.
One of a handful of faculty members who questioned why the University chooses to fund 28 varsity sports, Margolis proposed the idea that the University have only intramural sports instead of sports at the varsity level.
Another idea supported by some faculty members was to “de-emphasize” football.
Baddour responded that football and men’s basketball are the two “revenue sports,” which bring in enough money to fund the other 26 varsity programs.
NCAA investigation
The NCAA began investigating the school’s football program in July 2010 after Twitter images from then-UNC football players Kendric Burney and Marvin Austin sparked suspicions that the players may have been receiving improper benefits from agents. In the meantime, the then-Head Coach Butch Davis was fired and Athletic Director Dick Baddour announced his early resignation.
More than a year after the NCAA began looking into possible rules infractions, the University released a response to investigation on Sept. 19, 2011, which self-imposed sanctions including vacating all the wins of the 2008 and 2009 seasons, losing three scholarships a year for three years and paying a $50,000 fine.
University officials stood before the NCAA Committee on Infractions on Oct. 18, 2011, to defend themselves after hearing the NCAA enforcement staff present its case.
The NCAA has not yet issued a final ruling regarding the University’s case or its self-imposed sanctions.
Related:
Former UNC football Head Coach Butch Davis addresses the NCAA investigation
UNC officials enter NCAA meeting on infractions
Where are they now: players, coaches and agents of the football scandal
Anatomy of a scandal: Timeline of the NCAA investigation
From ‘Dickie’ to ‘Bubba’: New athletic director hired at UNC
Twitter photos from former UNC players released
Chairman of the African and Afro-American Studies resigns
Sports agent taught UNC summer course
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